The Mounted Eagles’ 2010 at the Mounted Eagles started off with two grand cel- ebrations: The Annual Riders' Banquet and The Volunteer Appreciation Banquet. 30+ riders and their families and friends gathered at the First Lutheran Church ELCA in Brainerd on January 22nd to celebrate the accomplish- ments they made in 2009. Each rider was awarded a tro- phy, a photo collage and a logo note pad. The note pads were a special surprise gift from Mike Schular and First Impressions Printing which is located in Brainerd. The other 38 riders couldn't make it to the event but they received trophies and gifts as well. Riders of the Quarters for 2009 were recognized and awarded Medals and Certificates for achieving this recognition. Rider of 1st Quarter was Wendy Nyberg, 2nd Quarter was Sam Weber, 3rd Quarter was Alicia Juenemann and 4th Quarter was Cody Vleck. Special thanks to First Lutheran Church ELCA for donating the use of their wonder- ful kitchen for our banquet. Just take a look at the photos and you'll see that a great time was had by all! Without our volunteers we could accomplish nothing! On Feb 18th, the Brainerd Library Conference Room was the site of the 2009 Volunteer Appreciation Banquet. Volunteers were served a true "Thanksgiving" sit down dinner which was prepared by the Board of Directors, Cheryl Triplett, Colleen Langren, Kris Olson, Lynn Fairbanks, Jan Moran, Marcia Mehr, Mary Hammer, and Theresa Grow, along with the Volunteer Directors, Shirley Adolphson and Katie Velardi. Each volunteer received a gift of appreciation and those who reached 'milestones' in their volunteer career with M.E. received spe- Therapeutic Horsemanship Volume 8 Issue 1 January-March 2010 Celebrations Bruce Gross is an 8-year old boy who lives every day in the world of autism. He doesn't speak very many words clearly or often; yet, like all eight year olds, he likes to run in gym class, play outside in the snow, eat snack foods, drink Icees and listen to any kind of music. His favorite food is a hamburger and chips. Bruce answers most questions with a quick yes or no. Not many other words are interjected into conversation all of the time. In Bruce's autistic world, he finds it harder to follow direction and stay focused. If his normal routine is disrupted, his life is not pleas- ant. On Tuesdays his pattern is to get off of the bus where Kelsey is waiting to bring him to riding. When he gets in the car, he is excit- ed because he knows the pattern of events for the day. He knows he is on the way to horseback riding. At Mounted Eagles, Bruce gets to do some of his favorite things, like dangle and twirl a piece of rope. The first thing he does is go to the rein rack to look for his favorite set of reins--the long pink ones are his first choice--then he hands the reins to his horse's leader to put on the halter. When he sits down in the saddle the twirling and dangling begin. However, the instructor is teaching him how to use this twirling and dangling motion to control his horse. Most often in the past, it took him many detours to get from Point A to Point B. On horseback it is not always a straight line from the kitty picture to the bear picture (where he stops to meow or growl at the appropriate one) but he can make it there pretty much on his own. Bruce has also gained a great deal of strength in his physical posture since starting to ride. He used to be off balance most of the time when sitting or walking, but now he is sitting and standing much better and does not appear as though he is going to fall down all of the time. He watches his volunteer intently as she hands him first one ring, then two...saying one plus one is? Bruce responds "2" Yes! Good job. When we reward him with a game of catch on horseback (one of his favorite activities), his eyes shine and he listens well for the name of the vol- unteer to whom he is to throw the ball and then tosses the ball to the right person. All days are not as visibly productive because something has hap- pened during the day to disrupt his routine or it's just a 'bad day' for him. Those are the days when Bruce needs to just sit and balance on the horse as it moves under him in patterns of circles, serpen- tines, bends, stops and starts calming him with each step. Sometimes moving at a trot makes him feel much better when he dismounts than he did when he mounted. He loves to be tickled, and he giggles and laughs when that happens. When Bruce dis- mounts after his lesson, he will pet his horse upon request and say a quick thank you to each of his helpers. He then goes to pick out a "good job sucker." All his volunteers say "Bye Bruce-nice job, See you next week." He smiles and heads out for the next agenda item on his scheduled routine, but in a much calmer mood because of his visit with his friends, horse and human, at Mounted Eagles. We're proud of you Bruce. Congratulations for being selected as Rider of the First Quarter of 2010. Rider of the Fourth Quarter - Bruce Gross PREMIER ACCREDITED CENTER cial awards. Among those receiving special recognition was Sandy Zugschwert who has completed more than 1000 hours of volunteer service. Jess Moehling was honored as Youth Volunteer of the Year, Katie Velardi was honored as Adult Volunteer of the Year and Lorraine Birskovich received the honor as being the Most Dedicated New Volunteer of 2009. 77 volunteers logged a total of 4,448 hours during the CY2009. We can't forget to recognize our faithful equine volun- teers too. Pepper, Wind Dancer, Velvet, Tamarack, Ace, Bill, Earl, and Butter all worked very hard to do their part in helping our special rid- ers. The volunteers and the horses dedicate themselves every week to making sure that the people who ride in our program receive the best instruction, encouragement and care to help them reach their individual goals. They make the smiles possible. Thanks to all of you! 2009 Riders of the Quarters L-R Alicia Juenemann, Susie Baillif Senior Instructor, Aggie Stroot Executive Director, Wendy Nyberg, Cody Vleck (not pictured Sam Weber)